Incoming image dump.
Work this time consisted of getting the Pylon (Neck) decks cut, skinned, marked and walls up... because they play into the support structure for the saucer.

I mean this literally- as well as the steel frame, these take the downward pressure of the saucer section weight and distribute it to the secondary hull.

Once all the walls and ribbing (where I can't combine the walls and outer ribs) are in place, this is going to be a massively solid build. I *may* have to counterweight a bit with the base and possibly nacelles, but so far it's maintaining integrity very well- and I don't even have the majority of my deck to deck magnetic connections in place.

Everything is still just stacking each deck on top of the others with the support rod(s) for a guide... except where I need to pin them temporarily to get the proper curve and deck alignment. There's not a terribly large margin for wiggle room here, but there is a tad.

Which is a good thing...

Regardless, pics:

__________________"Squirrels are like cigarettes- they're only dangerous when put in the mouth and set on fire..."

From here on out, I started to place in the walls (and arches, if you look closely). Main bulkheads are kept solid per plan.

I'm actually extremely pleased with how these curves are shaping up.

Continued:

NOW we're getting somewhere:

Some of the archway walls, which are placed transverse for stability- again, a testament to the blueprint designer being really on the ball. These prints just BEG to be built, and I think that was intentional. These will look nice when decorated, as the pylon is an observation area. Ignore the rough edges, they will be covered with strips later to clean things up and the ugly will go away.

That's it for now. More in a few days.

Until then, cadets- stay the hell out of my Romulan Ale.
You know who you are.

__________________"Squirrels are like cigarettes- they're only dangerous when put in the mouth and set on fire..."

Looks really good!
A great undertaking that is decades too late in coming.
Are you going to skin this creature? It looks HO scale, is that correct?
liking the pics!

It took me awhile to figure out the mechanical aspects of it, that's for certain. I never gave up on the project though, which is why I saved what work I had done previously. This is iteration... 4? Of the build.

Far more challenging than the Mega Galactica was.
Although that wasn't a piece of cake either...

Yes, it will be skinned.
Just how, remains to be seen. There are several techniques I could use, and they all depend on how I eventually want to display it. I was thinking of skinning one half and leaving the other half open- so that when you walk around the model the perspective will change. We'll see.

I have NO idea what scale it is. The blueprints say for FASA 15mm figures and have a 1/2" grid overlay. As I recall, someone attempted to suss out the exact scale earlier in the thread and came up with 1/160... but it was still kind of up in the air. If we're doing train comparisons, I would say judging from the size of walls, doors, ect, we're talking closer to (if not) N scale.

Or somewhere between HO and N. I'll have to pick up a figure pack to see or make some detailed measurements.

So, since we don't really know, I call it 1/OMFGTHATSBIG scale.

__________________"Squirrels are like cigarettes- they're only dangerous when put in the mouth and set on fire..."

The curves are definately starting to emerge. Honestly, the Neck Pylon looks more like the refit at this point to my eye, but I'm learning to trust these blueprints overall. But yeah, starting to get that "starship" feel to it. TONS of work to do, though.

Getting it out of the house will actually be easy. Just break it down to the various decks. The saucer section is only a hair under 4' wide, it easily fits through doors. I've kept portability in mind the entire time and it will pack down and set up just as easily. Which will come in handy displaying this at Comicon... before I decide if I want to sell it or not. I'm not terribly emotionally attached to my projects, but I was contemplating doing the Klingon D-7 Battlecruiser I also have the blueprints for (I bought both at the time) and having a matched set for... oh, I dunno... re-enacting episodes or whatnot.

Actually, looking at the D-7, it will be a far easier build to do.

Thanks for the comments and encouragement. Trying not to get overwhelmed with the build by just doing an hour or so every day.

-E

__________________"Squirrels are like cigarettes- they're only dangerous when put in the mouth and set on fire..."